The Basics + Practice = Success

The art library that I am amassing is pretty stacked. And it's all to help me learn the language of art. The analogy is: art is a language, but what does that mean?

Well, it means a couple things.

1) You're never done learning.

2). Once you have the basics down, you have nothing but practice.

3. Learning becomes a tool to express your ideas.

Why do children learn languages so rapidly? It used to be thought that it's because your brain as a child is different, but recent studies show that's false. It's about expressing an idea. If a child sees something he or she wants, then they must learn the words to get that.

The same is true of art. You must learn a set of rules (almost a grammar) and a lexicon in order to express your ideas. So if you study painting, you will see that the colors of your palette, the mediums and the canvas are part of your dictionary. You will never completely learn the entire dictionary, but that is a good thing.

The creativity comes into play when the language becomes a part of you. Then you can use your words to express an idea. This is a lesson that all great artists have understood and accepted through hours and hours of practice.

Don't get overwhelmed by the entire dictionary of information that you are learning. Have the spirit of a child and learn in order to translate your message.